The present disclosure relates to communications networks, and particularly to providing communications services to endpoints in such networks.
Teleconferencing allows users to exchange information with one another in real-time from remote locations. Whereas early teleconferencing technologies were limited to audio communications, newer teleconferencing technologies have taken advantage of Internet telephony to provide users with many different means for exchanging information among users. Internet teleconferencing includes a variety of different teleconferencing technologies, such as telephone conferencing, videoconferencing, and web conferencing. In addition to facilitating audio and video communications, web conferencing allows users to exchange information using a variety of other means, such as presentations, screen sharing, text chat, instant messaging, whiteboarding, and map and location sharing.
Web conferencing is often implemented via a software application provided by a web conferencing service provider. The means for communication provided to a conference participant can vary based on the service provider, application, application version, and hardware. For example, some service providers may offer only basic audio-video teleconferencing services, whereas other service providers may provide a wider range of teleconferencing services (e.g., screen sharing, text chat). A service provider may offer several different applications, each of which can include different features, and different versions of the same application may be released as new features are implemented or updated. Moreover, the teleconferencing features available to a user can vary based on hardware. For example, more features may be available to a user on a teleconferencing application installed on a personal computer than on an application installed on a mobile phone or tablet, even when the teleconferencing services are provided by the same service provider.